Happy with your Flashforge?

[Geoff]

Today's tweaks;
The Z-axis lead screw was wobbling at the top (slightly bent lead screw) & there was a definite gap in the upper mount, probably not terribly important, but it bothered me, so I machined a tiny nylon bushing.
No wobble now,.. but still have to beat the slight bend out of the lead screw sometime.
Also, the heater bed wires sometimes fell behind the bed when it was fully down, getting pinched in the process.
Put an ultra weak spring on them to keep them forward/under the bed. (stretched the spring out even more after the pic) Could probably just as easily used a rubber band.
Z drive bushing.jpgheater cable spring.jpg

PS: - Removing "STUCK-ON" ABS from Kapton?..drizzle a little IPA around the edges while warm, pops right off! (Works for old hot melt glue also..doesn't dissolve it, just breaks the bond)
- Kimwipes work for cleaning hot nozzles (Kleenex SUX!..been there, done that!.. gooey/lint mess!) they also work well for lint-free bed cleaning with IPA

Do you find ABS sticks that hard when it cools down? I've never needed anything to get something off my heatbead, when it cools to around 80c i just knock them off, always have.

[Teledog]

Knocking them off works well with small prints, but I've found with larger (non-raft) prints, it kinda pulls /bubbles/trashes the Kapton.
Tried nylon pot scrapers..sometimes work..great for rafts , but "once in a while" they rip/lift the Kapton on raftless prints.
A quick blast of IPA from a needle tip squeeze bottle (1-2 second wait, perhaps another blast) @~80C or lower {BTW, wait ~20 seconds for old hot-melt glue, it really works well for breaking the bond}
Then push (knock) them off..I hate having to whack them off too hard (AKA: means another leveling/new Kapton)
Still haven't found the perfect solution....

[Geoff]

Knocking them off works well with small prints, but I've found with larger (non-raft) prints, it kinda pulls /bubbles/trashes the Kapton.
Tried nylon pot scrapers..sometimes work..great for rafts , but "once in a while" they rip/lift the Kapton on raftless prints.
A quick blast of IPA from a needle tip squeeze bottle (1-2 second wait, perhaps another blast) @~80C or lower {BTW, wait ~20 seconds for old hot-melt glue, it really works well for breaking the bond}
Then push (knock) them off..I hate having to whack them off too hard (AKA: means another leveling/new Kapton)
Still haven't found the perfect solution....

You are definitely running your heatbead too hot for the plastic you are using then, if youa re trashing or bubbling the kapton , without doubt 1005 I can say your HB is too hot.

I learned that on my Lego printing experiment. You want to print Lego raftless (and big things, Im not talking lego blocks, Im talking entire lego cars on one plate) and I did find that when it was too hot I was killing my kapton tape, then after a week with my printer I figured out that the hotbed setting needs to be set for each filament - and 1 or 2 degrees can make a MASSIVE difference. Generally I have found that unless I am dying to print fast and don't want to wait for the next preheat then sure, i'll knock them off - but you do it quick as in 'SMACK!!!" none of this pulling like a sissy lol, you won't de-level your platform if you do it fast enough.

Or just wait till it cools down - a correctly heated bed for the right plastic won't stick, i'll give you 100 kilograms of plastic guarantee on that one (well maybe not 100.. im probably on my 60th roll - my machine is printing non stop every day except for when i go to bed, I never run it overnight. Just me, Im paranoid.

[Teledog]

Thanks Geoff!
Lowering the temp definitely works! :-)

Making a ton of parts for the InMoov..(BTW, just tested some servos, they LOCK with a loss of/no power..unlike a stepper motor..Aiiieeiii!) ;-)
ie: be careful using a 3 wire servo for your sex toys! ;-) {or perhaps great for a security system??} ;-P
Td

You are definitely running your heatbead too hot for the plastic you are using then, if youa re trashing or bubbling the kapton , without doubt 1005 I can say your HB is too hot.

I learned that on my Lego printing experiment. You want to print Lego raftless (and big things, Im not talking lego blocks, Im talking entire lego cars on one plate) and I did find that when it was too hot I was killing my kapton tape, then after a week with my printer I figured out that the hotbed setting needs to be set for each filament - and 1 or 2 degrees can make a MASSIVE difference. Generally I have found that unless I am dying to print fast and don't want to wait for the next preheat then sure, i'll knock them off - but you do it quick as in 'SMACK!!!" none of this pulling like a sissy lol, you won't de-level your platform if you do it fast enough.

Or just wait till it cools down - a correctly heated bed for the right plastic won't stick, i'll give you 100 kilograms of plastic guarantee on that one (well maybe not 100.. im probably on my 60th roll - my machine is printing non stop every day except for when i go to bed, I never run it overnight. Just me, Im paranoid.

[Geoff]

Thanks Geoff!
Lowering the temp definitely works! :-)

Making a ton of parts for the InMoov..(BTW, just tested some servos, they LOCK with a loss of/no power..unlike a stepper motor..Aiiieeiii!) ;-)
ie: be careful using a 3 wire servo for your sex toys! ;-) {or perhaps great for a security system??} ;-P
Td

argh the the Inmoov, that's like my bucket list project.. it's a tonne of plastic.

I am about oh.. %20 percent through mine? I am doing it at 0.64% scale, I don't think I can do a full size one, so I made the decision to do a small half size human one. so far the hand is working ok, the pins for the fingers need to be replaced with something better but still, it's impressive.

I have ordered a tonne of really powerful metal gear super fast servos from hobbyking for it, they are not meant for robotics (as in they are not shaped for it) but it's an easy adjustment for inmoov sections. The biggest challenge is the big joints that I forsee, the shoulders (when I eventually get to them.. not even at head stage yet) will be tricky, small motors are fine for the fingers and hands but the shoulders will need to be high torque and you want them super fast, and those are not cheap